


Simple Tastes

by HanginWithLilJ (FlyDizzeeD)



Series: Learning to Cope [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bonding, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Non-Sexual Age Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 07:43:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17018577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyDizzeeD/pseuds/HanginWithLilJ
Summary: Written for a friend. Boys, sippy cups, and breakfast.





	Simple Tastes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [puddingshirt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/puddingshirt/gifts).



“GOD DAMNIT!”

Any other day, the sudden screech heard from Geoff’s home would be normal and nobody would bat an eye. But that day was different. Michael’s scream brought a disapproving chorus of “Hey!” from different places in the house. The boy rolled his eyes and glared at what had caused his frustration, ignoring the sound of approaching footsteps.

He had spilled his juice.

Again.

It was a bad habit. He always told the guys he was totally fine with a regular cup when he was… small. Sometimes he was right, and nothing would go bad. Most of the time, however, he would end up spilling on himself or something else. This time the victim was his own shirt. Hopefully the juice wouldn't leave a permanent stain. He was admittedly glad he had taken off his hoodie like Ryan had suggested, or the whole situation would have been a lot more upsetting. Michael looked up from the mess when Jack walked in with a very tired looking Gavin latched onto his side. 

“Why are you--” Jack paused and sighed when he noticed the state of Michael’s clothes and the nearly empty cup sitting on the table. “You've gotta be more careful, Mikey. No more regular cups today.” He said, then added, “And you woke Gavin up.”

Michael looked to said British lad, who did indeed look a little worse for wear. Usually he would get snappy when wrongly awoken, but he didn't seem to have the energy. He just smiled at his boi as though he'd done nothing wrong in the first place. 

“Sorry, Gav.”

“S'okay, Michael.”

More footsteps were heard as Geoff joined them in the kitchen where the incident had occurred. “What the hell is he screaming about?”

“He spilled again.” Said Jack.

“Not on purpose.”

“Didn't say it was, Mikey.”

It usually wasn't. Michael didn't actually want to make a mess-- it was just a bad habit. He would get too excited, or too angry, and start gesturing too wildly. His drink (or Gavin's face) was often a casualty. The other guys tried to give him a chance every time. In the end, though, Michael typically ended up losing his normal cup privileges. Instead, his juice was handed to him in something harder for him to make a mess with. That meant a sippy cup-- an idea that did not go over well the first few times it was introduced. Even now, Michael glared at Jack.

“I'm not using a stupid baby cup.” He snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. 

A shrug from Jack, and then, “Guess you won't have anything to drink.”

That caught him a bit off guard, but he made sure not to show it. He looked instead at his wet shirt, grabbing the material and pulling it away from his chest. What had soaked through was quickly drying and making his skin uncomfortably sticky. Michael grimaced at the unpleasant feeling and jumped slightly when he felt a hand in his hair.

“Come on, Mikey, let's get you cleaned up.” Geoff said, ruffling the boy's curls.

The smell of food was the only thing guaranteed to wake up all the guys on a work-free Sunday. Knowing that, Jack quickly set to work on breakfast once Geoff and Michael left the kitchen. Gavin was still shadowing him, though, and while it was endearing, it didn't make cooking any easier. After the third time the sleepy Brit nearly ran face first into his back, Jack turned around to look at him.

Gavin was a cheeky little shit, but the way he looked at Jack with such open adoration made it hard for him to speak for a moment. The younger man had been gone for over a month and had just gotten back yesterday. Eventually, he would crash, but for now they were all just trying to help him land safely.

“Hey, Gavvers. How about you go sit down while I make breakfast.” He suggested.

“I can help.”

No, he couldn't. Every single cooking experience prior confirmed that Gavin could not, in fact, help. Realistically, Gavin probably didn't even want to help. He just didn't want to be more than a foot away from Jack. “I think I'm good on my own this time, pal. You can help Geoff with dinner tonight, though.” Ah, yes. Making someone else suffer through Gavin's awful attempts at cooking was as good a strategy as any.

It worked like a charm. Gavin grinned at the idea and nodded enthusiastically. Jack sighed in relief. “How about I pour you some juice first?” He offered in return for Gavin's acceptance.

At that, the younger man faltered. He opened his mouth but said nothing for a moment. Jack waited patiently, before Gavin finally asked “Can I have a sippy cup?”

Jack raised his eyebrows and spoke before he could stop himself. “You don't need one, Gavin, you only spill beer.”

He got a cautious nod in return, and a bit more hesitation from the other. Immediately, Jack felt bad about questioning him. This wasn't about making sense, it was about feeling better. He was about to apologise when Gavin spoke up.

“I don't want Michael to feel stupid alone.” He said, voice suddenly strong and confident. Really, Jack wasn't able to be surprised at all. It was a very Gavin-typical thing-- making sure his friends didn't feel bad about any of this. Sometimes it was hard to get Gavin to relax because he was so focused on the other boys. For all he was a carefree guy on screen, he always had a deep concern for those he actually cared about (privately, he worried about Dan constantly).

Jack grinned and hugged Gavin, making the smaller man squawk in surprise. “That's very nice of you, Gavin.” He praised before pressing a quick kiss to the top of his head. Gavin scoffed and squirmed in an attempt to free himself.

Rolling his eyes, Jack released the Brit and went to the cupboard, pulling out one of the sippy cups. It was pretty plain, just a green cup with a white spout and handles. 

“What juice do you want, buddy?”

“Apple.”

“Apple what?”

“Apple, please.”

“No problem, Gav.”

\---

Jeremy felt like his whole face was on fire.

The blush was intense and earned him even more attention from the man already fawning over him. Ryan grinned and cooed at him, one of his hands reaching up and ruffling his hair. “My precious Jer-bear.” He said, chuckling.

Groaning, Jeremy rolled his eyes and leaned forward. His head met Ryan's shoulder. “Stop it.” He said, voice muffled from shoving his face into the other man's shirt. Ryan had been cooing and doting on him for the past two hours, which wasn't at all unexpected. Ryan always said he didn't pick favorites, and that was true, but he absolutely had favorites to fuss over, or favorites to tease. Unfortunately, little Jeremy was his absolute favorite to mother-hen. The two were very close regardless, but when Jeremy slipped into that mindset he immediately became Ryan's main focus. He didn't mind the attention most of the time. But sometimes, the gent's fussing was a bit much.

Thankfully, Ryan backed off a bit in regards to the pet names. He still hugged Jeremy tight when the boy leaned into him. They were both sitting on the floor, having been engaged previously in some very focused coloring. Jeremy took all of his masterpieces very seriously. 

The only reason either of them were awake was because of Michael's yelling downstairs, and then the smell of food. Jeremy had wanted to go down immediately, but Ryan knew that Jack would call them when it was actually ready. Instead, he had set the coloring books out to give Jeremy some time to wake up.

It wasn't his fault Jeremy was so God damn adorable when he colored, brows furrowed together in extreme concentration. There was no possible way for him to resist fawning over the lad.

“Can we eat now?”

“Jack will yell when--” Ryan started to speak but was interrupted by a louder voice.

“Breakfast!”

Jack's call had Jeremy pulling out of Ryan's embrace in seconds, ready to scramble to his feet and rush down the stairs. Ryan was able to grab him again, by the hand, and firmly held the boy as he got up himself, ignoring the impatient whining. Jeremy tried to pull away once or twice, but quickly deflated and resigned himself to having to wait for Ryan.

“C'mon,” he said, “Geoff always eats all the bacon.” He huffed at his friend's lazy yawning and stretching.

Ryan finally hummed and moved for the door. “I'm going, I'm going.”

Once they were out of the room, Jeremy barely had time to focus on the strong scent of food in the air before he was no longer on the ground. He yelped, still not used to being picked up. Ryan and Jack were the only ones who could pick any of them up. Geoff was mostly stringy and Matt just wasn't very strong. Still, instinct kicked in and he wrapped himself around Ryan to hold on. The older man had said a few times before that carrying people around would either be the end for his back, or a blessing for his upper body. He seemed fine so far.

“Let's go eat, buddy.” He said, carefully making his way downstairs with Jeremy expertly balanced on his hip. The way his boy clung to him made his chest feel a little funny.

They were greeted by a sleepy but enthusiastic Brit, immediately holding out a purple sippy cup.

Jeremy had never hesitated to use sippy cups. He'd talked before about how he liked the convenience, and how not having to worry about spilling was a serious anxiety reducer. It helped that, usually, Jeremy was the “youngest.” None of them really had exact ages when they were small, but certain behaviors and desires were close enough. Jeremy always seemed to hover around a toddler age, being clingy, curious, and more inclined to choose the simpler games and toys when compared to Gavin or Michael.

He took the cup as Ryan set him down, wobbling for a moment before getting his balance back. “Thanks, Gav.” He said, smiling at the other boy.

“I'm using one, too.” He said, then attempted to whisper and failed miserably. “Michael’s a bit in the dumps and we have to make sure he doesn't feel stupid.”

Ryan cast a look over to Jack, who was plating food on the counter. The other gent noticed and used his free hand to mimic turning a cup upside down. He hummed. Poor kid.

“That's real nice of you, Gavin.” Ryan said, making his way over to Jack to help set plates on the table. 

“I'm very charitable. Right, Jeremy?”

“Yes.” The other boy agreed, which made Gavin grin. He had the tendency to just go along with whatever the others wanted him to do when he was feeling small, whether they were feeling that way as well or not. Gavin loved it.

“Well, Mr. Charitable, breakfast is ready. Pop a squat.” Ryan pulled a chair out for Gavin as he spoke, then moved to do the same for Jeremy. The two boys sat immediately, eager for the food.

Just as plates were being set down, Michael and Geoff came back in the kitchen, the younger of the two wearing a different shirt and with notably more tamed hair.

“That smells awesome.” Said Geoff, sitting at the table. He bit into a piece of bacon and perked up when he noticed the others at the table. “Hey boys.”

“Geoff!” Gavin grinned. “Can we play Mario Kart? We didn't finish last time.”

“After breakfast, buddy. You in, Michael?”

But Michael was distracted. He was staring at Gavin's drink, eyebrows furrowed. Eventually he spoke up.

“Why the fuck are you using that?”

The conversations that had been going on around them hushed. Gavin looked over and frowned when he realized what Michael was asking. Jeremy, who had been taking a drink when the question was asked, slowly pulled the spout away from his mouth, looking a bit panicked. His free hand quickly reached out and held Ryan's sleeve.

“It's for drinking.” Gavin said, aiming for casual.

He snorted. “If you're a baby.”

“Michael.” Jack warned.

“What? It's dumb. We aren't actually little kids. We can use regular cups.”

It somehow got even quieter after that, until the silence was broken with a whimper. Reacting instantly, Ryan scooped Jeremy up and left the room, not sparing a glance back. Jack sighed.

“I know, Michael. And if there's ever anything you don't want to do, you know you can just say so. It's fine. This is entirely meant to make you guys feel better by helping you relax. If you don't feel relaxed, or you don't feel comfortable, that's okay. We can talk things over and figure out what works.” He paused for a moment, let his words sink in, then continued. “But you just made Jeremy feel bad. You know how nervous he already is about this. He's putting a shit ton of trust in us, and you just violated that. I don't care if you feel small or big. That's wrong, and you need to fix it. We're family, Michael, regardless of whether or not someone regresses to deal with stress and feel better. You don't hurt your family members.”

The words were serious, and Jack was, too. It was abundantly clear he meant every word of it. They all put a lot of work into figuring out their dynamic. It was fluid, and they didn't really label it. What made people happy and comfortable was what mattered. Sometimes that meant Netflix marathons. Sometimes that meant coloring books. The details didn't matter. Family mattered.

Michael bit his lip. He couldn't make eye contact with Jack, instead staring at his untouched food. Around him, he could hear the others go back to eating and chatting as if things were right back to normal, but he knew he still had to get up and go fix it.

Grabbing Jeremy's cup from where it was left behind on the table, Michael ventured out of the kitchen in pursuit of Ryan and his brother. His brother, regardless of blood, who he had just made feel like shit.

Great.

Thankfully, he didn't have to look far. The two were sat on the couch, Jeremy mostly in Ryan's lap as he appeared to be playing a game on the man's phone. Michael could hear him sniffling, and when he got closer he could see Jeremy must have cried. It wasn't much of a surprise. He was new to the whole thing and had a lot of anxiety around it still; felt weird and guilty about it. The sippy cup was one of the few things he didn't seem scared to want.

And Michael had fucked that up.

“Jeremy?” He asked, voice a bit quiet and cautious.

“No.”

Jeremy turned away from him more, using Ryan as a way to hide. The older man was idly playing with Jeremy's hair and ignoring Michael for the most part. He needed to do this on his own.

“I brought your cup. You left it in the kitchen. It still has juice and I know you like juice.”

More silence. No dice.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat.

“I'm sorry. I didn't meant what I said. I was just being a jerk because I spilled my drink again. It wasn't fair for me to be mean.” He tried, holding the cup out again. “Please take your juice? It's still cold.”

Finally, Jeremy peeked out at him. He eyed the cup suspiciously and said nothing. Michael was almost ready to give up and leave, the silence dragging on, when Jeremy's quiet voice issued what seemed like a test.

“Try it first. Make sure it's cold.”

Michael knew Jeremy didn't care if it was actually cold. It wasn't about the drink. It really wasn't about the cup either. It was more important than that. Michael put the spout to his lips and sucked, coughing a little when the juice filled his mouth.

“Still cold.”

A hand jutted out at him.

“Give.”

He handed the cup over, smiling slightly when Jeremy eagerly held it to his chest the way he clutched all important things, like he was worried someone was going to steal it. He was distracted enough that he yelped when he was suddenly pulled onto the couch by Ryan.

“Ryan! Let me go!”

“Nope. This is what you get for making my baby boy upset. Mandatory cuddles. You're sentenced to 20 minutes before you're eligible for parole.” Ryan said, making Jeremy whine at the nickname and Michael groan at the dorkiness.

“I didn't even get a trial!”

“Psh. Kings don't need trials.”

They both rolled their eyes at that, but Michael settled down and gave in to his sentence. He was mostly just happy with how Jeremy leaned across Ryan to cling to him.

And when Jack asked him if he wanted a drink later, expression more than clear about what he meant, Michael gladly accepted the offer.


End file.
